Chapter 5
The Breaking
“Rotarin is just on the other side of the forest, perhaps a day’s walk at best,” Charles explained the further they delved into the woods. His demeanor was happier, though Terrill held his doubts about that; he was even skeptical about the bounce in Lumen’s step. Neither cottoned on to his own personal misgivings, and Charles continued to plough through with his information. “It used to be more, but the forest has greatly encroached in recent years.”
“How do you know that?” Lumen’s own attitude saw him walking calmly at Charles’s side, the pair oblivious to their companion taking up the rear. “Last I checked, you’ve been in Sayn for the last many years.”
“It may have been a world of souls, but Adversa did contain a reflection of our world. I can’t imagine it was all that different. The real question is knowing how long we’ve been in here. Perhaps enough time for Sayn to mobilize an army against us.”
“Don’t say that! I don’t want to imagine the army coming after us, fugitives or no.”
Terrill rolled his eyes; they had bigger worries on their plate than the army of a crazed royal family and its archbishop. Charles was absolutely right in not knowing how many days they were spending here, as the further they walked, the less light broke through the trees. Just as he had felt upon arriving, Wicked Forest was closing in, either to ensnare them in its boughs, or for some other, hidden reason. Glancing behind, Terrill also felt the eyes on their backs, watching them work their way through the treacherous forest, even if that treachery was not of its own volition.
It was those twisting paths, leading them nowhere, that began to make Terrill paranoid. Not of anything the Fiends were doing, or of the country they had left behind, but rather the companions in front of him. It was easy for their words to seemingly settle what had plagued them since long before the Shadow, and watching Lumen and Charles joke around with one another would have lifted that burden from Terrill in a second. He couldn’t shake the feeling it was all a front, though, each covering for the other.
And Terrill knew all too well what it felt like to make a resolution that was difficult to continue on with, because he had been forced to make a realization about himself. No more would he uselessly throw his body into conflict, not when he wasn’t alone. Nor could he deny the number of times that he’d wanted to, and part of him still indulged in it.
Old habits didn’t die out after a simple speech or resolution, and Charles and Lumen had lived with their habits and sins longer than Terrill could imagine. There was no way that was something easily cast aside. He stared further, hoping to discern if they’d truly had a change of heart, when Charles looked back, his eyes veiling the truth and pulling it well out of Terrill’s reach. The younger man scoffed in turn.
Then his footsteps came to a rather screeching halt. Charles, too, came to a pause. Lumen continued on. He only made it a few steps before realizing the others had stopped. Soon after, he started to sense the same thing: something in the forest had changed.
It wasn’t as simple as a new path moving aside, or the sun (or maybe even moon; day and night had no concept here) being concealed in a different way. There was something more…elemental in the way the forest was being altered before their very eyes. At first, there weren’t any visual cues; just a feeling that something had gone terribly wrong. The lack of any animals in the forest didn’t serve as much of a clue either, since Terrill hadn’t spotted a single one since they’d first arrived. Had it not been for the response of his companions, Terrill might have believed himself crazy.
The sound, like a horrendous cracking, wasn’t imaginative, however. Terrill looked down. An involuntary gasp left his lips, and he just about fell over. Beneath his feet were undulating pathways, like squiggling lines made up of a multitude of colors. This one was primarily a deep purple, almost black. Just as he set to examine it, the tendril disappeared, leaving naught but dirt behind. As his specialty, Terrill bent down, placing his hand to the surface of the ground, but could discern nothing notably different to everything else. He could only venture a guess to what lay beneath their feet, having ridden them multiple times before. It was baffling that one should appear now, when he couldn’t use it. Not without risking further damage.
That thought line began to complete itself, wondering if, perhaps, it had showed itself because of the damage already done.
“What was-”
“Terrill! Charles!” Lumen’s pointing finger indicated the coming danger, and both Guardians made swift turns to see the black shadowy substance heading right for them, like whipping branches. Terrill held his blade out, eyes wide. It looked far too similar to the creature he had killed, but it was suffering no thoughts from Terrill.
The black wave of branches washed over all three with impunity, snuffing out the light and leaving them in darkness.
But not despair.
Terrill, who had closed his eyes against the onslaught, opened them again to find that though he was surrounded by this inky darkness, it felt distinctly different. It was kind of welcoming, showing a path further along. He doubted it was the one that led out of the forest, especially with the space no longer looking like a forest at all. The only thing clear about what this dark path was, was that it wasn’t the Shadow, no matter how similar. There were a few common points, but this darkness did not engender the same despair and fear and regret that welled up inside that abominable creature. Still, Terrill didn’t know what to expect, and that included poisonous words and memories.
With no other direction to go, and none of his companions with him, Terrill led his feet to the road and began walking along it, hoping it would lead to the way out of either the darkness or the forest. “Charles! Lumen! If you’re out there, answer!”
“They will not answer.”
Terrill whipped around, his sword flashing through and creating a resounding crash that refused to echo. Where he had struck was a form he had only seen once, but after all their souls’ conflicts, he knew it too well. Obsidian armor and jet-black hair, the man with red eyes leaned back, as though propped against something physical that could not be seen in the darkness. Nor could he be touched. Yet Terrill knew it was not illusion, but connection, and to that he snarled in the villain’s direction. “Golbrucht. I was wondering when you’d start showing up.”
“Oh, I’ve not shown up at all. You’re merely communing with my soul through the Lifeblood. Not an event altogether expected, but that’s what happens when the cracks start to form.” Terrill stared down the Fiend. The longer he looked, the more he could see how incorporeal the being was, a mere soul, tethered to the physical space. Golbrucht wasn’t lying, a prospect more disturbing than if he was, but Terrill relaxed. He could do nothing in this space to fight off the enemy, just as the enemy could do nothing to him. “I am surprised you’ve come this far, boy. Through Clay, I can see you’ve learned of the prophecy, so you must know by now how little you are involved in fate’s game, yet still you persist.”
“Shut up, already. I don’t care if you’re a soul right now; we beat you once, and we’ll beat you again. That prophecy be damned. Lumen isn’t dying to fulfill it or your ambitions.”
“We both know he would take the chance. Your friend knows, too.” Here, Golbrucht chuckled. Not appreciating the sound of it, Terrill walked on, hearing the crunch underfoot that was familiar. He had been hearing it just moments before the darkness had arrived. “Lumen is someone with a great sense of purpose and duty. He would lay down his life in an instant if it meant serving the greater good. You were not so different yourself, were you not? Atrum said so.”
“Take your mind games elsewhere, Golbrucht.”
“It’s not a mind game if it’s true.” Like a specter, Golbrucht followed Terrill, making no noise, and it was beginning to irk Terrill. Not because the man was following him, but because he was even there in the first place. There was something screaming to him, a detail out of place that this leering ghost of a soul was accidentally communicating, but one he was letting slip his mind with every second. “You can see that desire for sacrifice in Lumen and the pawn because you understand their noble self-sacrifice, one that fate demands of them.”
“And I suppose you feel you saved them?” Terrill’s snappish words elicited a chuckle, but the Guardian hoped to keep him talking until he could figure out what he wanted to. “You doomed Charles to a life of wishing for redemption, and you just outright screwed with Lumen’s whole existence.”
“I subverted the course of their fate, yes, but as you should be well aware, all fate is to dwindle into nothingness. I, a pawn for the world to label an enemy. Lumen, a Chosen One, born to die.”
“You do realize you played into the notion of becoming an enemy, right?”
“By my own choice!” Terrill stopped, his foot scraping back. The sound of gravel emanated when Golbrucht got in his face, preventing his advance with indignation. “I ran and ran, and when I could run no longer, I embraced my role as the King, clashed with the Chosen One and saw myself victorious. Only fate had not had its fill, so I will break it, render this world to nothingness and bring about the end long before fate had scheduled it. Then we can be free, Terrill Jacobs. Lumen’s life joining to mine is but a small price to pay.”
Righteous fury ignited, and Terrill could not stop himself from slashing at the apparition in front of him. Golbrucht was neither wounded nor amused, and they shared in that feeling. “You can be free all you want, but stop dragging other people into it! Let Atrum go!”
“Not a chance. I still need him for my ultimate vessel, once Adversa no longer exists.”
“Advers-” Terrill had no question, and any that he might have formed died when a different ghostly hand appeared from within the darkness to clasp around Golbrucht’s mouth. The head that appeared attached to the hand blazed with a dark shadow, a light burning inside of it. He pulled Golbrucht closer, the dark-haired man clashing with the pale blond of his temporary captor. “Atrum!”
“You’ve heard him, Terrill. What he means to do!” Terrill wasn’t understanding what Atrum wished to impart with that, and he couldn’t answer straightaway as Golbrucht began to fight back, a tussle of souls engaged in an act of defiance and dominance both. Only after tightening his grip did he continue. “He’ll take control of them, just like he took control of me, and the second he collapses the pillars between worlds, he’ll-”
“Silence!” Golbrucht broke free, his soul letting loose a fire of pure shadow. Terrill was unaffected, and there was no sound to indicate that the space around him was affected, either. Yet Atrum was, skidding back without noise, his arms crossed as burns appeared on his skin, or what constituted it in that space. “You are a mere soul, tethered to me. You hold no power over my combined body and soul. You will stay joined with me, and together, we will rip fate from this world.”
Golbrucht reached for Atrum, grabbing him by the neck and squeezing. The air flashed white, a sign that this strange corridor of darkness was coming to an end. Atrum gasped and gagged, but there was nothing Terrill could do for him as he pulled at the fingers around his throat. After an effort, he managed to choke the words out. “Terr…ill… I’ll keep…my… promise… Keep…yours…like…always…”
He attempted to stretch a smile across his face, and Terrill reached for his friend, those pleading eyes burning themselves into his vision. He chased forward, and as his hands ghosted through the duo of souls, they faded. The darkness did, as well, sounds and sight rushing back to Terrill all of a sudden. He tripped, and landed on his knees.
Terrill’s breath came in huffs, Atrum’s last words to him echoing. He wanted to keep his promise to fight back, to not let Golbrucht take control. He was still there, clawing his way out of whatever fate set in store for him.
More than that, though, Terrill had finally figured it out: everything was connected to the Lifeblood, and the connection it created between the two worlds. It was the only explanation for them manifesting in that spot, proving an indelible tie to the Lifeblood of Darkness. Then, Atrum had mentioned the word “pillars”… It was the greatest hint at what Golbrucht had planned, now that his initial idea of the Shadow had failed, and given the King had reached out to him, it could only mean he was feeling the pressure.
“Terrill! Terrill!” The young man felt his body shake, and he brought his mind to the reality of where he was, looking up at the clear eyes of Lumen’s. Golbrucht’s words rang in his head, as did Clay’s. Lumen certainly was one to sacrifice himself for the greater good, and with Atrum as the vessel… No…an incomplete vessel. Terrill’s eyes unfocused for a moment, understanding the gravity behind those words. Atrum would not be able to survive once Adversa collapsed, which was why Golbrucht needed Lumen, and if Lumen saw his own death as the best means of killing Golbrucht to die along with Atrum…
Terrill’s fingers clenched at the dirt, wishing it was wet just to feel it between his digits. He wouldn’t allow it. Looking into Lumen’s eyes, seeing the conviction to do what he felt was necessary, with no regard for himself or the life he could live…Terrill could see he hadn’t saved them at all. He had only delayed fate. Only delayed the inevitable.
He wanted to scream.
Instead, he whispered, “Just a rock in the stream…”
“What’s that?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Terrill couldn’t answer, refused to while he stood and tightened his grip upon Lumen’s shoulder. He had no words to say aloud, and he wasn’t sure if Lumen understood at all, but he poured all his conviction into that one moment. That singular time he could finally understand Golbrucht and agree with him. Just as he had told Krysta, Terrill now felt it in his bones more than ever.
He would have to break fate, too.
The only problem was that he had no idea how, and his mind was immediately pushed to more present concerns, with a hand landing upon his own shoulder. He didn’t need to look to know who it belonged to. “Look.”
Terrill was finally able to regain his surroundings to notice he was surrounded by a pool of light, the midday sun streaming down upon him and his companions. He hadn’t seen it, surrounded by all that darkness, but his movements had carried him forward, out of the forest. In the distance was a city, its details lost to the miles before them, but distinct, nonetheless. They were almost at Rotarin.
Terrill took a step forward, and the land shuddered. He almost fell, but all three reached for each other and grabbed hold against the tremors that lasted a short while before fading away. Lumen was winded, his fingertips clutching Terrill’s arm so tightly, there would be no surprise if it ended up bruised. He was still the first to speak. “What was that? First the weird dark corridor and now an earthquake…?”
“Darkness…earthquake…” Terrill muttered. He didn’t like the disturbing conclusion. “The Lifebloods… Are they running out of control?”
“Why would you say that?” Charles asked, urgency returned to his voice. Terrill didn’t want to believe it, keeping his eyes on the horizon that contained Rotarin, but he couldn’t hold back such information.
“Two elements, and he mentioned that they were cracking. Is it possible that the Shadow’s attack in Adversa damaged the Lifebloods more than we thought, and now they can’t keep in check what they used to? The ties between worlds…?”
Charles didn’t look to understand much, stroking his beard in contemplation, but he did gather one thing from all of it, training his own eyes on the city. “Then we’ve no time to delay. Follow me, and make haste.”
Like a man possessed with speed, Charles took off, Lumen chasing after his wake. Terrill swung his sword and prepared to chase after. He looked back at the forest that had spat them out, wondering if the darkness still lingered there, and if his theory was correct. Looking for that second longer, he thought he saw a shadow within the forest, but Charles shouted back to him, and the moment was lost. Nodding to himself, Terrill ran to catch up on the plains of dried grass.
That kind of topography was exactly what the southern half of Clupei was made of, it seemed, nary a change in scenery as the three ran with all haste. Had it not been for the settlements and pockmarks representing craters in the ground, full of workers, he might have thought it some kind of deadlands outside the city. However, monsters were scarce, and only the arid heat made travel and living difficult, contributing to the crackled grass and general dryness. Traversing it, Terrill began to become aware of how thirsty and hungry he was, on the road for too long a time, but none of them stopped.
Rotarin was in sight as the sun dipped beneath the horizon, dousing the land in a navy blue. This was the only time Charles even slowed his pace, the exhaustion creeping into Lumen, something that necessitated Terrill holding him under his armpit to help stabilize him. In spite of that, Lumen insisted they continue onward, the bright lights of the city cutting through like a lighthouse. It would have been welcoming, if those lights hadn’t turned briefly red and orange in the night. No one needed to utter it to know what that was, and nor was Terrill surprised when his boot hit a small pool of water that flooded the lower level of Rotarin. It was an obvious anomaly, the trio sluggishly wading through where the water attempted to block access, just as dawn crested over.
Now close, Terrill could see some of the craftsmen of Rotarin attempting to bail the water out, though to no avail. At least, not by their hands alone.
Unlike other cities Terrill had been to, there were no walls to protect Rotarin, and the houses at the edge of the city were spaced apart, growing denser the further one moved inward. From within that bustling cityscape was a group of three men, wheeling out a cart that had something attached to it: a snakelike structure, surrounded by simple-looking flashing lights. Those removing the water groaned with relief at the device trundling down the road, one so large it caused Terrill and his companions to move aside in order to allow it passage.
“Well, it’s about time. We were waiting for you to return!”
“Had to put out those fires. Weather’s going real crazy down here.”
“Is the hangar safe?” Those words piqued Terrill’s interest, and he tried to catch the remainders of the conversation while Charles dragged them forward with his presence. He held a newfound worry, while Lumen stared at the city with newfound wonder. Terrill tried to keep his ear between both.
“Guild President Simon thinks so. I shudder to think what would have happened if we lost that project. Already had so many delays!”
“The hangar then…” Charles breathed out, and he knew exactly where to take them. The closer they got towards the city, the more buildings appeared, and soon, Terrill and Lumen’s eyes were treated to something else entirely, the likes of which they had only seen within the Wind Fortress, but on a much grander scale.
“Amazing! These contraptions look like they use magic, but it’s not, is it?” Lumen shouted. He drew some annoyed or inquisitive looks when he ran over to a smaller machine, similar to the one that had just been wheeled out of the city. It was pumping water to a burning building, fascinating Lumen with the way it worked. Charles was less impressed, and more concerned with finding the hangar that had been mentioned.
Terrill felt that need impress itself upon him, as well. Much of the city, now that there were more people and buildings to show off the extent of what had occurred, showed signs of fire or flooding. A small crack ran down an offshooting road, as the earthquake that they had felt the day before also traveled through town. The Lifebloods were beyond control, and there was little time left.
Lumen’s questions were abandoned when he saw their speed, running after them when they passed between two tall buildings to enter what Terrill could only deem to be the city proper. It was a noted change from even the outskirts. The houses were no longer so spaced, and the square they had walked into was full of more people than any place but perhaps Valorda. The most marked difference were the number of devices around the city, from one that moved a cleaner vertically up the side of the building without touching anything, to a short range device that allowed people to communicate. This one alone was a marvel that Terrill never thought possible, but then he had never thought a flying ship was possible, and he’d already seen that.
“How do they do it without magic?” Lumen said in a rapturous whisper. “There must be a trick to it…”
Terrill was sure there was, and he feared it was the same exact thing that had visited disaster upon the city. Adversa was the only realm with magic, and Dimidia had to find a way around that. But just as the Wind Tribe was aware of the existence of both worlds, Terrill began to think the technology that Rotarin had unearthed was also something that shared the existence of both.
A tie between the magic of Adversa and the physical of Dimidia no doubt gave rise to something greater that the Lifebloods had to regulate. Now, they were running loose, and the boon they had granted this city had turned to tragedy.
“Charles? Charles Archovy, is that you?” The older Guardian stopped, Lumen about to run into him before Terrill pulled him back. An older fellow was approaching, a jovial smile stretching his face as he walked away from an intact but somewhat smoldering building. He was overjoyed, his graying and windswept blond hair matching his jubilant expression while his hazel eyes twinkled with glee. Charles didn’t move from his spot as the man reached him and took him into an embrace, thumping his back with zealous enthusiasm. “We thought you were dead, my friend.”
“Daniel,” Charles said with a grunt, not returning the hug, but not one to fight it off, either. Terrill frowned, concealing his expression from Lumen while he watched Charles. This Daniel’s words had had an instant and profound effect in Charles’s demeanor, a solemnness behind his eyes that proved to Terrill that the man hadn’t stepped beyond his wish to die as redemption. Terrill’s conviction burned brighter. “Captain of the Guild Guard, I see.”
“Oh, this old title? Been a few years now,” Daniel said with a chortle, rubbing the back of his head as the insignia of a hammer and a sword on his chest was brought into significance. He seemed a kind enough man, and the well-fashioned sword at his waist said he was not altogether unfamiliar with combat…which was really no surprise, given he knew Charles. “How about you? Haven’t seen you since you left. Not even a word. I did what you promised and didn’t tell Chloe, but she was steaming mad.”
“I take it she didn’t receive the news well.”
“For about a day. Then she was right back to work on Rotarin’s pride and joy. Did you know we did a test run just the other day?”
“No.” His curt tone meant business, and Daniel knew it, clearing his throat and nodding with understanding. “Is she around then?”
“At the hangar. Do you…ah, yes, would appear you do remember where it is…” Daniel seemed less perplexed by the speed Charles moved at, and more amused. After a shake of his head, this captain ran off in his direction, prompting Terrill and Lumen to do the same. They didn’t want to lose sight of their guide, even if the building he was heading to was the undeniably largest in the city, clearly built for the express purpose of housing something extremely large.
The further into the city they walked, the more Terrill got his bearings on its design. Much like Valorda, the city was circular, but instead of one central square, there were rings of interlocking circles, each devoted to a different kind of craft, ancient or otherwise. The supposed hangar sat in the middle of it all, like a beacon for the city and where they worked on their most important projects, all others in the periphery. That made them no less lively on the whole, and Terrill found himself staring at each of the projects going, from what looked like tools of warfare down to simple conveniences. All of it was something he hadn’t seen before, except for the forge, but even that appeared to use different techniques, their fires up and running in defiance of the damage that had erupted around them. For a moment, Terrill let himself get distracted by the various styles of craftsmanship surrounding the blades and scabbards, but when he looked up, his heart clenched.
There she was, again, somewhere in the crowd, light exuding from her like a beacon. Terrill feared she was delusion and reached up to rub his eyes. Sure enough, she was gone. I’m starting to go crazy, seeing Krysta where I shouldn’t.
He wouldn’t give credence to the implications of that, and with a huff, rejoined his companions as they reached the hangar. Nothing much of the southern part of the city could be seen beyond such a massive structure, but the windows offered somewhat of a glance, showing similar buildings and squares beyond, including a larger building with a sign out front that was illegible through the glass panes.
Of more import was the closing doors to the hangar, revealing something inside. It looked foreign, with a sleek exterior, and the kind of propellors he had seen on the Wind Fortress attached to what he could only describe as wings. Without a closer look, the only other details he could gather were something that looked like an open deck of a ship leading inward to a cabin, but there was no sign of a wheel or mast. It was, in a word, unique.
So, too, was the commanding woman out front of the hangar.
“So, no damage done to the craft? How do the sectors report?” she spoke, holding an air of familiar authority. Her half-rimmed glasses, adorned with a gold chain, rattled as she was exiting from the hangar. Her earrings swung back and forth with every clack of her exquisitely designed wooden cane.
“Damage on the interior is middle. Fires have been put out, Master Simon.”
“Plat and Gil? Are they all right? I’d hate to lose our forge. They’re the only ones with knowledge on how to replicate the parts we need for the skyship.”
“They’ve already resumed work, I’m told,” the fussy young boy next to the woman said. He almost dropped some papers, but she was far from chastising of him, patting him on the shoulder.
“Relax. We will rebuild. As long as the skyship is intact, Rotarin will bounce back. This is nothing. Though I do wonder what has caused these natural disasters.”
“Something supernatural, no doubt. But you’ve never been one to believe in them, have you, Chloe?” Charles had stopped them on the edge of the plaza that the woman, Chloe, was emerging into. Her cane gave a final clack, her lips pursed as her coiffed gray hair bounced on her head. The movement caused her glasses to slide down her face, an austere and foreboding glance directed the way of Charles. Lumen swallowed next to Terrill, while he made to examine everyone in that plaza, from Daniel to Chloe and even the onlookers that were muttering to themselves at the old Guardian’s appearance. Most of those who recognized him were older, but none were quite so affected as this Chloe…if a harrumphing could be called affected.
“Well, if it isn’t the return of the prodigal son, fifteen years too late, I’m afraid.”
“I was held up. Rotarin seems to be thriving.”
“It’s recovered, though we could have used you during the war. Perhaps our projects would have been off the ground much sooner.” Chloe stepped forward, her clacking cane demanding absolute authority. Lumen fidgeted at the sound, glancing between the pair and unable to say a word, or perhaps just not finding the right ones. To an outside observer, the bad blood between them appeared as silent animosity.
Terrill, however, saw something different the moment they were standing side by side. He saw their familiarity…in both demeanor and appearance.
Chloe proved this, abandoning her cane and taking Charles into a short hug, in spite of him towering over her. “Welcome home, brother.”
“B-brother?!” Lumen shouted, pulling some of the attention to him, including that of Charles’s now-revealed sister. Terrill found the humor in it, recognizing the similar no-nonsense attitude and reticence. He wasn’t surprised. “Charles, you never said you had a sister!”
“It wasn’t exactly a relevant topic of conversation.”
“The Archovys have never been a family of many words, have we, Charles? Who are these fine young gentlemen? Your charges? Have you turned mercenary or what? You discussed it before you disappeared without a word.” Chloe seemed only slightly bitter about that, enough to grab her cane and drive it into Charles’s foot. He grimaced, but refused to show her more than that.
“They are my companions, fighting a great battle. And aren’t you a Simon, now?”
“Wonderful, delusions of grandeur. You’ll have to tell me all about it. And yes, Charles, you at least managed to attend my wedding before you went gallivanting.”
“I’m not deluded; no more than the woman who sought to resurrect an old flying ship,” Charles said with a snort, the siblings getting in each other’s faces. They seemed close to Terrill, giving him the gift of a smile. Even Daniel laughed, a mighty guffaw that allowed many to experience the joy of the prodigal’s return. “Actually, that’s why we’re here?”
“Oh, is it?” Chloe removed her cane, tapping the stones of the street, a smirk gracing her lips. “It would seem you have a lot to say about your absent years, and of your companions. They look a bit worse for the wear.”
“We were in Wicked Forest. Things have changed there, Chloe.” The conversation was taking a more serious turn, many of the onlookers returning to their tasks and Charles’s sister obtaining a demeanor befitting that of a harsh leader.
“Don’t I know it. You’ve seen what’s happened to Rotarin in the last twenty-four hours, and I fear that’s not the end of it. What do you know, Charles, and should I bring you to the guild headquarters to fill me in on it?”
“Might be best,” Charles answered her. Terrill turned away, knowing it was in his best interests to let Charles do the talking with where they were. The second he looked away, the vision returned to him, on the edge of the plaza, near an alleyway. She darted into it, her light vanishing. Charles kept speaking, with Lumen listening, leaving Terrill to begin taking steps in that direction. “I know I’m famished, and I’m sure Lumen and Terrill are as well. It’s been quite the few days…”
Charles’s voice dropped out of earshot, Terrill’s pace quickening until he reached the end of the plaza, where the houses formed alleyways to connect the different circles of Rotarin. There was no one there, and no one paying attention, but it didn’t stop Terrill from entering, searching for any sign of the woman who kept appearing before him.
She wasn’t there, making Terrill feel utterly crazy. Even worse was that he opened his mouth to call for her. “Krysta, are you there, or am I just imagining things?”
His voice echoed, but her voice did not respond in turn.
Another voice did, one whose own cast a shadow over the alley from above him.
“I don’t think you’re seeing things. I’ve seen her, too,” he spoke, also echoing. Terrill looked up, and the owner dropped, settling lightly with a puff of wind before a spear flashed out, held dangerously at Terrill’s throat. “Though I wish I was imagining what I’m seeing now. I never thought you’d continue to consort with that murderer, Terrill. So, tell me why before I run through your heart.”
Terrill had found Walter Jameson.